After a string of four wins, The Durant Cougars''s good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They took a 35-21 bruising from Gaither. Durant has struggled against Gaither recently, as their matchup on Friday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, Durant still got an impressive performance from Emmanuel Lee, who rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns. Hunter Smith made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
Gaither found their leader in underclassman Elija Mason, who rushed for 94 yards and three touchdowns, and also caught a touchdown. Jayce Nixon was another key contributor, throwing for 222 yards and two touchdowns.
Durant's defeat dropped their record down to 7-2. As for Gaither, their victory ended a four-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 3-5.
Durant will face off against Riverview at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Riverview is on a three-game streak of home wins, Durant a four-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the field. Gaither will take on Leto at 12:00 p.m. on Friday. Leto will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 444th, while Gaither is ranked 141st).
